LONDON, England (CMC) – West Indies captain Jason Holder extended his good batting form for Northamptonshire with yet another half-century but the English county suffered their third defeat in four games in the One-Day Cup with a 45-run loss to Lancashire under Duckworth/Lewis.

Sent in at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Northants were dismissed for 269 off their 50 overs with Holder top-scoring with 72 off 58 deliveries – his second successive half-century following his unbeaten 60 in a winning effort against Warwickshire last Sunday.

Robert Keogh stroked 66 and South African Ricardo Vasconcelos, hit exactly 50, to support Holder’s effort.

With the innings tottering on 26 for three in the eighth over, Keogh and Vasconcelos repaired the damage in a fourth wicket stand of 76. Two wickets fell in the space of six balls with one run added to leave Northants on 103 for five in the 26th over but Holder stepped up with an attacking knock to turn the tide.

The right-hander struck seven fours and two sixes and importantly, anchored an 89-run sixth wicket stand with Keogh whose boundary-less knock lasted 97 deliveries.

Holder raced to his half-century off just 50 balls before perishing with the charge on in the 45th over, taken on the ropes at mid-wicket courtesy of a relay catch between Australians Glenn Maxwell and Rob Jones, off England Lions’ seamer, Saqib Mahmood, who finished with six for 37.

The Barbadian all-rounder, now has 248 runs at average of 82.

Worryingly for West Indies, however, Holder needed treatment to his left leg early in his innings and did not take the field when Northants bowled. The 27-year-old is set to lead West Indies in a Tri-Nation Series in Ireland starting next Friday, the Caribbean side’s last one-day tour before the World Cup starts on May 30.

In reply, Lancs had raced to 164 for two in the 29th over when the rains arrived to end the game prematurely.

Haseeb Hameed (65) and Keaton Jennings (63) posted 130 for the first wicket to put the hosts on course for victory.